The clinking of glasses was heard everywhere. Choruses of "Kampai!" followed. The evening was approaching midnight, yet the celebration continued on. There were no stumbling drunks yet, tables were still upright, and though the slur was now quite audible in some people's speeches, the party had just arrived at its main event. Hisagi Shuuhei stood in the middle of the pre-booked private room of the establishment (not quite a pub or a bar, but a place to drink nevertheless), holding up his seventh shot glass, this one bought for him by Abarai Renji.

"Come on, Taichou! It's my turn," Renji yelled over the cheers. "Make me proud now!"

And with that, Shuuhei brought the glass to his lips and threw his head back to chug the liquor in one gulp.

"That's my man!"

The event was so lively, hardly anyone noticed two entities sitting at the far corner, quiet and disconnected, even to each other. It had been so long since any kind of carefree get-together had been held, that everyone in Seireitei (including even those one would not expect to participate in such like Kuchiki Byakuya) made it their goal to enjoy tonight no matter what. All of them, except for these two: Kira Izuru and Hinamori Momo. Silently and slowly, they sipped their drinks, their first drinks still.

Shuuhei managed to break away from Renji's group and wandered around, shuffling his feet and holding on to people's shoulders, giving them cheerful greetings in hopes of covering the fact that he actually needed them for support to stay on his feet. The two lieutenants drinking in solitude caught his eye, and he walked over to them.

Kira Izuru felt his hand on his shoulder, but instead of looking at Shuuhei's face, he stole a glimpse of the white robe over the standard Shinigami wardrobe donning Shuuhei's form. The newly-appointed captain of the ninth division gave a slight groan, to which Izuru cleared the crowd of thoughts in his head and genuinely smiled at their welcome intruder.

Momo leaned forward, showing the same warmness Izuru was now emitting. "Hisagi-kun…ah, Hisagi-taichou, I hope you liked the shot I bought you," she said. "It was the first one, do you remember it?"

Shuuhei grinned widely and held a thumbs-up. "I guessed it was from you," he said. "You should have been there when I drank it."

"Oh, it wasn't as wild as the other ones you had. They might have laughed at me for picking such a girly drink. I made sure it had as little alcohol percentage because it was your first shot. I didn't want you to get drunk too quickly."

"Well, it was the best one I've had all night."

Momo smiled shyly.

"So how come you're just sitting here?" Shuuhei looked at their table and saw it was empty of glasses save for the ones they were currently drinking from. "Are you guys serious?" he asked incredulously. He looked over at Izuru's glass and gawked. "Kira, don't tell me that's water!"

Izuru gave a sheepish chuckle. "I just have so much paperwork to do tomorrow, I figured the lack of a throbbing headache would actually help me make progress," he said.

"Yeah, but to not drink at all?"

"I suppose you're right. But let's not talk about it until you wake up in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow, way past your meeting with your squad members."

Shuuhei turned his head toward the crowd. "Look at them," he said, "you think I'm the only one who's going to be late?"

"On a more serious note, though, Hisagi," Izuru said, changing the subject, for he had never been opt to be pressured into drinking. "Congratulations. We knew you would make it as a captain. It's been long overdue, I would think."

"You did a great job keeping your squad together as a vice-captain," Momo added.

"Yeah," Shuuhei said wistfully. He rested his chin against his fist and gained a faraway look on his face. "Thanks for sending the flowers."

Izuru and Momo exchanged confused looks.

"We didn't send you flowers," Izuru said. Somehow he felt he should have, so he didn't have to feel ashamed that he hadn't done some sort of gesture to acknowledge his colleague's promotion.

"Oh," the dark-haired man said. He looked almost comical. "Well, I know you love me all the same, anyway."

"And don't you forget it!" Momo said, giggling.

"We'll still hang out," Shuuhei said, in a low voice, as if speaking to himself. But Izuru and Momo could hear him clearly. "I may be a little busier than usual, but yeah, we'll definitely still hang out." He stood up and walked away from them, disappearing once again into the heart of the party.

Izuru and Momo looked at each other again, this time, with understanding and knowledge of what the other was thinking and had perceived.

To be abandoned, betrayed, to have to readjust after a loss. It was common among the three of them. Three vice-captains who have been cruelly pushed aside or manipulated by the people they swore full servitude to. It was insignificant that they had difficulty to proceed and move on, that they had been hurt in so many aspects and that they had been left with much more responsibilities they weren't quite used to just yet. No, they had to proceed and they had to do it immediately.

As expected of Hisagi Shuuhei, he was back on track. The first one of the three, Izuru and Momo would have to grudgingly admit, proud they may be of him, to have firmly determined his resolve and acted upon it. Within a week after the whole ryoka/Aizen ordeal, he launched a daily newspaper and called it The Gotei Gazette, which proved immensely popular. The overflow of events at the time had helped greatly, there was so much to tell to the people. Adding to this new press and also his duties as a captain substitute, he was able to put back up the past Seireitei News magazine with the help of Izuru and altered it into Seireitei Weekly, a magazine with more casual articles and exclusive only within Seireitei.

He had done so much in so little time. All Momo had managed to do was recover from her injuries, and Izuru occasionally lending a hand to Shuuhei. It was inevitable Shuuhei was going to be captain. As soon as he acquired his bankai, all that came between him and the position was a written exam and a meeting with Captain Commander Yamamoto.

The party still raged on.

Izuru and Momo came to another understanding. It was time to head on home.

They stood from their table and pushed back their chairs. They walked out of the establishment and into the street. As their steps took them farther away, the night became more quiet. Rukongai was quite serene at night, especially now that peace had settled back into Soul Society.

Their sandals made shuffling, brushing noises against the dusty road. They passed by a house, from within a crying baby was heard. The small breeze that had been constantly blowing picked up for a moment, before settling back into its calmer movement. They walked on.

"I guess it's just the two of us left," Momo said in that quiet, soft voice of hers.

Izuru cast a quick glance at her. He shared her worries, for being left behind. But he knew they'd catch up. She would surely catch up. And if he managed to get ahead, he wouldn't let her know; instead, he would quietly wait for her and prod her forward.

They walked on. Izuru reached for her hand and held it tight.

A/N: Well, there's your first one-shot. I think Hinamori and Kira is a difficult couple. I really don't see them together, but maybe, if I write about them more, I'll grow to love them and make them grow to love each other. I do find their friendship a start, and I'll work on it from there.

I got the title The Lucky Ones off the movie, but very different story. I just find that the three of them quite similar to the characters, having survived so much.

I hope you guys liked it. More to come, who knows when. I admit I'm not very consistent in my work.

Please read and review. Thank you!